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Pakistan prison raid kills hostages

LAHORE, Pakistan - Police commandos stormed a maximum-security jail in eastern Pakistan where armed prisoners took visiting judges and female inmates hostage Friday. The five hostage-takers and three of the judges were killed, officials said.

The commandos were called in after hostage-takers threatened to kill their captives six hours after seizing them, police official Malik Iqbal said. It was not known how the rioting prisoners obtained weapons.

"We tried to negotiate with them, but when the prisoners said they would kill the judges we brought in the commandos," Iqbal said.

None of the women hostages were injured, Iqbal said.

The incident occurred at the Sialkot penitentiary 60 miles northeast of Lahore, the capital of Pakistan's eastern Punjab province. The judges were taken hostage while inspecting the overcrowded facility.

About 2,700 prisoners are held in the maximum-security prison built to house 1,800 prisoners.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Newly elected President Nestor Kirchner overturned a decree Friday that prevented former military officers accused of abuses during the 1976-1983 dictatorship from facing human rights trials abroad.

The president's order came a day after a federal judge ordered the detention of 45 former officers and one civilian sought by Spain on charges of torture, murder and other crimes during the dictatorship's "dirty war" against suspected dissidents.

The judge, Rodolfo Canicoba Corral, said authorities had so far arrested 15 of those on Spain's list, including former navy Capt. Alfredo Astiz, who was once dubbed the "angel of death" and became a symbol of the dictatorship's repression.

All extradition requests will move through regular legal channels, the judge said.

TOKYO - Two strong earthquakes shook northern Japan on Saturday, leaving nearly 40 people with minor injuries. Officials said area rail traffic was halted, power was cut to tens of thousands of homes and dozens of houses were damaged.

The costliest quake struck shortly after dawn, shaking Miyagi state, about 190 miles northeast of Tokyo, the Meteorological Agency said. The magnitude-6.2 quake was followed by smaller aftershocks.

About 20 people in the town of Nango had minor injuries, local hospital officials said.

Earlier Saturday, a 5.5-magnitude earthquake injured at least 17 people, said Miyagi prefectural official Takashi Chiba. Those injuries were also minor.

TOKYO - Suicides in Japan linked to job losses and bankruptcies hit a record high last year, police said Friday.

A total of 32,143 people killed themselves in 2002, 1,101 - or 3.5 percent - more than the year before, the annual police report said.

Of those, 7,940 Japanese took their lives because of economic difficulties - an increase of 16 percent. The previous high was in 2001, at 6,845.

Japan has one of the world's highest suicide rates, with the overall number topping 30,000 for the fifth straight year.

MOSCOW - Russia has acquired Soviet-built ballistic missiles from Ukraine and is preparing to begin producing a new generation of nuclear submarines, officials said Friday.

A spokesman for Ukraine's Ukrspetsexport company refused to comment on the report or say how many missiles were involved.

A spokesman for Russia's Strategic Missile Forces confirmed Russia had received the missiles, but declined to say how many.